The 2016 Ride the Rockiessummits at least five high altitude mountain passes, totaling more than 29,000 feet of elevation gain.

But the Cycle Oregon bike tour on the rugged Pacific coast is no shoreline romp for beach cruiser bikes. The Oregon coast is a rugged route created by numerous drainages and continental plate tectonics. The long option (457 miles) gains 33,689 feet, while the short (365 miles) option gains a respectable 25,853 feet.

An Iowa cyclist said the elevation gain established on continuous rollers across his state’s landscape quickly added up. RAGBRAI cyclists shift gears hundreds of times passing through hilly sections of Iowa, while RTR cyclists find a comfortable gear for climbing a long mountain pass and grind it out for hours.

Of course there was one difficulty that Iowa didn’t suffer that year — high-altitude oxygen deprivation. But they did get their share of heat and humidity.

Climbing rates

Although the Cycle Oregon bike tour has more total elevation gain, the route is slightly longer so RTR has a higher rate of climb — by less than 2 inches a mile. Ride the Rockies gains 73.9 feet per mile; long option for Cycle Oregon is 73.7 feet per mile. The short option is nearly 71 feet per mile.

To compare, the 2016 RAGBRAI is the third shortest in its 44-year history and ranks 24th in elevation gain. That computes to about 44 feet of elevation gain a mile.